Buses rule the roads in plan to unclog city

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Blocked artery ... as part of proposals to reduce bus travel times,
the Government wants to close several blocks of George Street to
private vehicles.Photo: Ben Rushton

Shopping hours could be shifted back and several blocks of George Street closed to private vehicles as part of a plan to strip up to 13 minutes from the average bus trip into the city.

The Premier, Bob Carr, will meet business groups later in the year to discuss the proposals, which include changing trading hours to 10am to 7pm to free up roads during the morning peak hour. Myer is open from 9am to 6pm on weekdays, while David Jones's city stores open at 9.30am.

The proposals include restricting deliveries to CBD shops to off-peak times and creating a "transit mall" in George Street between Bridge and Market streets, open only to buses and taxis.

Yesterday the Premier unveiled the first stage of his plan to cut travel times into the city: an extension of the red bus-only lanes to Elizabeth, Castlereagh, Liverpool, Chalmers, Park and Druitt streets. The bus lane hours will also be extended, to 6am to 8pm on weekdays, and more cameras will be installed to catch those who flout the rules.

Tickets will once again be sold at bus stops, as part of a trial to evaluate whether shifting ticket sales to the pavement allows buses faster passage through the city.

Mr Carr said the changes would build on traffic improvements expected to flow from the opening of the Cross City Tunnel in a few weeks. "With up to 38 per cent less traffic on east-west streets [because of the tunnel], we can move to shorten bus travel times on Elizabeth, Castlereagh and George streets," he said.

The first-stage measures are expected to cut five minutes from the average bus trip from Central to Circular Quay. The second-stage reforms could strip 13 minutes from a bus trip into the city, Mr Carr said.

However, the planned changes are likely to be controversial.

The chief executive of the NSW Chamber of Commerce, Margy Osmond, said that while the chamber welcomed any moves to alleviate traffic congestion in the city, proposals to push back trading hours and restrict delivery times must take into consideration the financial impact on business.

"The proposed changes could result in businesses having to pay penalty rates and other allowances which would have a significant cost impact," she said.

The plan also appears to be bad news for those have been lobbying, with the support of the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, and other councils, for an extension of the light rail service from Central to Circular Quay.

Mr Carr said yesterday he did not think commuters would accept a transport system that involved changing modes of transport, but he was "not ruling out" more light rail.

The chief executive of the light rail operator Metro Transport, Kevin Warrell, said the bus plan was a "quick fix that won't work".

The Opposition transport spokesman, Peter Debnam, said the Government would be entrenching "an inefficient, polluting form of transport".